G20 declaration provides momentum as COP27 nears end, but falls short in energy transition
BALI, Indonesia (Updated, 4:26 p.m.) — Leaders of the Group of 20 nations renewed their commitment to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and recognized the need to phase down the use of unabated coal, giving hope to boost the climate summit in Egypt.
Analysts and campaigners welcomed the final text from the G20 meeting in Bali that stated that the rich nations “will play our part fully in implementing” the Glasgow Climate Pact. Under the agreement made in last year's climate talks, the goal of capping global temperatures from rising to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius must be pursued.
“We resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries,” the final communique released Wednesday read.
“That the G20 recognized the need to cut emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees should provide impetus to the governments gathered at COP27 to agree on a similarly strong outcome,” said Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and continued United States-China tensions were feared to threaten the outcomes of this year’s G20 meeting.
The G20 declaration urged delegates to the climate summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to scale up adaptation and mitigation efforts, and called on parties to make progress on the contentious issue of loss and damage at COP27.
The text also encouraged wealthy economies to fulfill their climate finance obligations, and provide financial and technical assistance to vulnerable countries.
“Keeping to the 1.5 degree threshold of the Paris Agreement is crucial for vulnerable countries, not because we need to decarbonize, but because it is important for our people and communities to survive and thrive,” said Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities deputy executive director Kairos dela Cruz.
Not much progress
The Bali declaration recognized the need to speed up efforts to phase down the use of coal and reiterated a commitment to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. G20 economies — composed of the world’s biggest emitters — also pledged to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy resources.
But for the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, the communique diluted the group’s commitment to achieving global net zero emissions, and did not prohibit false solutions like carbon capture, utilization and storage, and fossil gas.
“Phasing out all fossil fuels, including fossil gas, is what is required. Phasing out fossil fuels does not mean ending fossil fuel use overnight, but a just, equitable, managed transition to 100% renewable energy,” CEED Executive Director Gerry Arances said.
Greenpeace Southeast Asia also said that while the text reaffirmed that goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius, it “fell short” of making any progress in signaling for the needed just energy transition and fossil fuel phase out.
“Long on rhetoric and short on instruction, G20 leaders in Bali could have closed the gap between the urgent needs of world’s most climate vulnerable communities and countries and the actions of the richest and most polluting. They chose not to,” said Yeb Saño, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
IBON International's Climate Justice programme lead Ivan Enrile added the text “peddles the fossil fuel industry's pipedream that we can offset our way to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
“Reliance on false solutions and untested technologies such as carbon capture as an alternative to actual ambition is misguided and amplifies the risk of the most severe levels of temperature increase,” he told Philstar.com.
During the G20 summit, rich nations pledged to raise at least $20 billion to help wean Indonesia off coal. The Southeast Asian country is heavily reliant on coal and is also the world’s largest exporter of the planet-warming fossil fuel.
Climate Analytics’ Hare called on the G20 member states to walk the talk.
“We now need the G20 to do what they have committed to and make the necessary deep cuts in emissions, and more importantly, stop subsidizing fossil fuels,” he said.
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This story was supported by Climate Tracker Asia.
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